Little Sister Resister: "Hell is empty and all the devils are here."

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here." - Ariel, The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2, William Shakespeare.

U.S. Senators taking their faux oath of "impartial justice."

This moment is heavy. The grief and despair feels what we experienced the evening of Tuesday, November 8, 2016. There are devils at work.

There have been one thousand and one pundits out there opining about the travesty we just witnessed. Indulge me by reading one more.

The defense in the impeachment trial of the 45th president* of the United States continued their spurious spin (replete with the requisite lies) on Wednesday and Thursday during the question and answer phase.

On Thursday, Alan Dershowitz said in legalese what his boss has said more basely: that he can do whatever he wants.

I was listening to the trial in the car between home health patients. During Wednesday's and Thursday's question-and-answer portion, I often didn't hear the question or know who was speaking. When I tuned in, I thought it was a House manager speaking sarcastically when I heard Dershowitz saying a president can believe, "I want to be elected. I think I'm a great president. I think I'm the greatest president there ever was and if I'm not elected the national interest will suffer greatly" and that if a president believes that his re-election is in the national interest, then "if [he] does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment.” In other words, "l'état, c'est moi." I found out later that day that it was actually Dershowitz. I was shocked. The monarch talk is awful. It's scary, outlandish, grotesque, bizarro reasoning.

Straight out of one scary, outlandish, grotesque, bizarro brain. I'm sure that 45 forced Dershowitz to present that case, so that when he's acquitted he can evoke those words again and again and again in his victory rallies from now until we remove him from office. He's going to be insufferable about it (as if he were sufferable now). And I have no doubt that he will live it. There is absolutely nothing that will prevent him from doing this – or worse – again. He truly believes he can do anything he wants. What's to stop him? Certainly not the fear of consequences. He has never had consequences. His whole fucking life.

It doesn't matter that constitutional scholars from coast to coast echoed "Hogwash!" to Dershowitz's argument. TЯUMP got it into the record, into the most serious of proceedings in the land. Forever.

Interestingly, Dershowitz was absent from the proceedings on Thursday.

Another moment on Thursday illustrated again how deeply corrupt the executive branch is. Chairman Adam Schiff told us that John Bolton in his book described at least one meeting when the Ukraine scheme was being discussed and planned. Participants in the planning? SCROTUS, Bolton, Rudy Giuliani, Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, ...and Whitewash House counsel and man presenting defensive arguments in the impeachment trial, Pat Cipollone. Unfuckingbelievable.

But the GOP Senate didn't want to get to the bottom of Cipollone's involvement. Or anyone else's.

No witnesses. No documents.

It's time to get out the thesaurus again because the English language seems ill-equipped to deal with this situation in the United States Senate chamber. Disgraceful doesn't cut it. Contemptible comes closer.Scandalous, yes. Shocking, no, not in the true sense. Degrading?That's the one. The GOP Senate has degraded us all. They have degraded the Constitution; they have degraded their body. They have degraded the United States of America.

Friday night the Senate voted to reject calling for witnesses and documents, witnesses and documents that could shed more light, bring more facts. A witness in the form of former national security advisor John Bolton, a credible first-hand witness who wants to testify.

The United States Senate has tried 62 impeachments. Only one trial of all those 62 has been conducted without witnesses: the impeachment trial of the 45th president* of the United States. It is a travesty. They have brought more dishonor upon their house.

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” — George Orwell, 1984

We heard from two "moderate" Repugs who voted to reject new witnesses. The reasons for their "no" vote come from both sides of their mouths.

All eyes were on Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). But she's moderate in fantasy only, and she voted no. Her statement was perplexing:

“I worked for a fair, honest, and transparent process, modeled after the Clinton trial, to provide ample time for both sides to present their cases, ask thoughtful questions, and determine whether we need more.

“The House chose to send articles of impeachment that are rushed and flawed. I carefully considered the need for additional witnesses and documents, to cure the shortcomings of its process, but ultimately decided that I will vote against considering motions to subpoena.

“Given the partisan nature of this impeachment from the very beginning and throughout, I have come to the conclusion that there will be no fair trial in the Senate. I don’t believe the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed.

“It has also become clear some of my colleagues intend to further politicize this process, and drag the Supreme Court into the fray, while attacking the Chief Justice. I will not stand for nor support that effort. We have already degraded our institution for partisan political benefit, and I will not enable those who wish to pull down another.

“We are sadly at a low point of division in this country.”

Yeah, it's too partisan, so let's make it partisan. If the institution has failed, it has failed because of votes like this. You failed, Ms. Murkowski. If this is a low point, it's because you brought it lower.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), had been thought of the last great hope. He has been an honorable, even-keeled legislator and had nothing to lose, having decided to retire. He had the chance to leave a legacy with his yes vote. But he, disgracefully, declined. Alexander said in a statement:

“I worked with other senators to make sure that we have the right to ask for more documents and witnesses, but there is no need for more evidence to prove something that has already been proven and that does not meet the United States Constitution’s high bar for an impeachable offense. …The Constitution does not give the Senate the power to remove the president from office and ban him from this year’s ballot simply for actions that are inappropriate.

The question then is not whether the president did it, but whether the United States Senate or the American people should decide what to do about what he did. I believe that the Constitution provides that the people should make that decision in the presidential election that begins in Iowa on Monday. …Our founding documents provide for duly elected presidents who serve with ‘the consent of the governed,’ not at the pleasure of the United States Congress. Let the people decide."

If cheating in our sacred election is not impeachable, Sen. Alexander, then what is?

Sen. Alexander seemed to have bought into the corrupt defense that was presented by the President's* counsel. Sure, there's proof he did what he did. But <shrug> who cares?

It's not to say that we will never learn the truth. But the trial itself was "half done" in the words of former chief of staff John Kelly, who has stated that he believes John Bolton. I disagree with Mr. Kelly. It wasn't half a trial. It was not a trial at all.

It would've been exciting to hear from John Bolton under oath during the trial. But we may yet hear from him, as it is likely the House will continue investigating and may call him to testify. If not, we'll get to read his book (unless, somehow 45 is successful in blocking its publication).

How interesting that this dyed-in-the-wool conservative, hawkish to his core, would become a Democrat darling. But that's where character is more important than policy. A man can inspire respect from all sides when he stands up for what is right.

"Knowledge will give you power, but character respect." – Bruce Lee

Besides evidence from Bolton, we'll get more and more evidence as it trickles out. We may see more of the emails that the DOJ is hiding; we'll hear much more from Lev Parnas; in the future perhaps even Mick Mulvaney will pull a John Dean and speak truth to power. Don't laugh! Redemption can happen.

For now, we face the reality that the GOP is corrupt to the core. It's not about policy. It's about character. Someone on Facebook asked those on the left to be honest. That Democrats would've behaved the same in an impeachment of Obama for the same thing. I answered, nope. We wouldn't have let it get that far. We would've stopped it at "pussy."

With an acquittal, 45 is given approval for his behavior. Yes, yes, some of the Senators will make harsh mouth noises during their 10 minutes on the floor to explain their vote. But their voice doesn't matter. Their vote does.

The man will be able to continue to claim, "I can do anything I want." It's as simple as that. And he has nine months to do so. He can and will seek any help from anybody and will commit any act if he thinks it will help him win. It's what he has done for 73 years. It is what he will do now.

It's sobering and sad to think of those consequences. But before we surrender ourselves completely to the quagmire of despair, let's look at the other outcomes.

IMPOTUS will have Impeached next to his name forever and ever. The fact that he was impeached will not go away.

Impeachment establishes a record. The facts -- some of them – are out there. We the people want the truth, and we sought the truth. The truth has been spoken for history to know.

Impeachment demonstrates to the world that at least half of us do not condone the behavior and we're trying to correct it. Justice warriors will seek accountability. Always. We are a nation guided by the rule of law. We are honoring that.

The impeachment process laid out the GOP motivations plainly to the voters. The vote to deny additional evidence and the upcoming acquittal shows that the GOP truly has sold their soul and has no motivation to honor their oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Their only motivation is to hold on to their seats, and they must pander to the Apricot Assfruit and his rabid base in order to do so. They are so scared of one man and his twittery thumbs that they are willing to bend over and take it.

Their constituents can decide if this is the kind of person they want representing them. There are far more voters out there who value loyalty to country more than loyalty to party. It is much more likely that their short-sighted decisions will bring backlash against them, and will not blow positive over the Tormentor-in-Chief.

Not that he won't try to use acquittal to rile up his base. We'll hear his crowing for the next nine months. His rabid base may buy into it, but remember, they are a small segment of the voting populace. The segment that is angry and motivated to change WILL vote. Let's make sure of it. It's time for us to be a rabid base. Rabid for what’s right. Rabid to support people who will unseat the corrupt agitators. Rabid for the next election and pushing the blue wave.

In a future post, I'll lay out the vulnerable seats and outline our strategy for the general election as we gear up for the real, lasting impeachment event that will happen on November 3.

A few weeks ago, I heard the song "Eve of Destruction," which hit the charts in 1965, in the midst of our last great national divide. The lyrics resonate for our times. But the song gives me hope.

In part:

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
Handful of Senators don't pass legislation,
And marches alone can't bring integration,
When human respect is disintegratin',
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin',
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

It's a dark, foreboding message. But listening to the song actually gives me great hope. Though it feels so relevant, it reminds me that we got through those dark times. We didn't destruct. We've made progress in the 55 years since. We've endured the push and pull of the left and the right; we've weathered many crises. We'll get through this. Interestingly, James Comey agrees with me. We'll be fine.

I'm glad the the vote to acquit won't happen until Wednesday, after Tuesday's State of the Union address. He won't be able to invoke acquittal during the speech. In fact, I'm predicting it will be a fairly benign speech. His handlers will have written out the words that he'll dutifully read real good. He'll save the best stuff for the magats at his next rally.

And now, art to give voice to our grief.